


I Will Battle Every Day

by SmolBirb



Series: Haikyuu in Hoenn [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fluff, Houen-chichou | Hoenn, M/M, Pokemon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-08-08 07:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolBirb/pseuds/SmolBirb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trainers Hinata and Kageyama are arch rivals, both intent on becoming the world's best trainer. However, an unfortunate event may force the two to work together. Part of the multific series Haikyuu in Hoenn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Press Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is my very first fic, I hope you enjoy it!

The sun slowly rose over the hills of Littleroot, its warm rays illuminating Hinata’s room. He should have been asleep at this hour, but instead he was already up, staring at his ceiling waiting for his alarm to finally go off. With each tick of the second hand on his limited edition Charizard alarm clock, Hinata’s golden eyes got wider and his entire body shook with excitement. Today was a very special day for this 10 year old. It was the day he would finally get his very own pokemon and he willed time to move faster. At long last the Charizard on top of his alarm clock let out a valiant roar and Hinata leaped out of bed.

He raced down the stairs and had almost made it out the door when his mother called after him, “You’re really going to meet Professor Ukai in that!?”

  
Hinata looked down and realized he was still wearing his favorite poke ball pajamas.

  
“Aaaaaaah!” Hinata yelled in surprise, “Thanks mom that was a close one!”

  
His mother laughed softly and said, “Go back upstairs and get changed, I’ll have your breakfast ready for you when you come down.”

  
Hinata raced back upstairs, ran to his dresser, yanked open its drawers and started throwing clothes across the room. What was he supposed to wear? He wanted to show the professor that he was going to be the greatest pokemon trainer there ever was! But 15 minutes and a disaster of a room later, he finally settled on his favorite charmander shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts. He hoped that the shirt might inspire the Professor to give him a specific pokemon. Hinata turned around and barreled down the stairs for the second time this morning. When he reached the last step he was surprised to smell the fragrant aroma of his mother’s pork buns.

  
“Pork buns for breakfast!?” Hinata asked his mother as his mouth watered.

  
His mother smiled and said, “Well I know they’re your favorite and I wanted you to have a special going away breakfast.”

  
Hinata pulled out a chair, sat down and began to happily munch on a pork bun.

  
“I can’t wait to get my pokemon. I hope it’s a Charmander. I mean I guess I would be ok with something else like an Eevee or a Bulbasor or a Pikachu or….”

  
“Hinata don’t talk with your mouth full,” his mother gently chastised.

  
Hinata gulped and wiped crumbs from his mouth with his hand, “Sorry Mom”

  
His mother smiled and said, “I remember the first time you said you wanted to be a pokemon trainer. Oh you were so little, you must have only been three or four at the time. You insisted that you would have a team of only charmanders because their tails match your hair.” His mother giggled.

  
“Moooooom!” Hinata protested, “That was forever ago, I’m a serious pokemon trainer now!” Hinata jumped up on his chair and punched his fist in the air, “I’m going to be the best pokemon trainer that ever lived!”

  
Hinata’s mother got up out of her chair, walked over to her son and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

  
“Just be careful my little bird and make sure you return to the nest once and a while”

  
Hinata was going to insist that he didn’t need to be babied, but when he looked at his mother he saw the sadness in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Mom, I’ll write every chance I get” he said with a beaming smile, “And before you know it, everyone will know my name!”

  
Hinata gave his mother a hug and hopped off his chair. He grabbed his backpack off the hook by the door, gave his mother one last wave and skipped out the door.

  
“I’m gonna get a Chhaaaarrrmander” he sang as he skipped down the path towards toward Professor Ukai’s lab. His jaunty tune was abruptly cut short when he ran smack dab into a wall blocking the entrance to the lab. A wall that turned out to be Kageyama, the bigshot up and coming pokemon star of Littleroot.

  
“Hmph this isn’t a place for kids” said Kageyama, scowling down at Hinata who had tumbled onto the ground.

  
“Kageyama you know I’m the same age as you!” snaped Hinata, “I’m here to get my Charmander and become the best trainer in the world!”

  
“Ha, well that’s too bad because I’m going to become the strongest trainer in the world. There’s no way you’d ever come close to my level.” Kageyama pulled a pokeball out of his bag and tossed it up in the air. With a smirk he said, “Professor Ukai entrusted me with Litten, a new pokemon from a distant region. He knows how strong I’ll become. I bet all he’ll give you is a Magikarp.”

  
Hinata rose to his feet, clenched his fists, and looked Kageyama dead in the eye. The effect would have been more intimidating had HInata not been a great deal shorter than him.

  
“Next time I see you, I’ll defeat you” Hinata warned.

  
Kageyama waved his threats off and rolled his eyes. He turned his back to Hinata and walked purposefully off towards Route 101. He didn’t have the time to deal with starry eyed wannabees getting in his way. He’d been studying pokemon training practically since he started reading. He’d already mapped out his journey to the league and chosen the pokemon he would train. Litten had altered his plans a bit, but it had been a pleasant surprise. Clearly the professor saw his unique potential. But this runt just thinks he can grab a starter and get all the way to the league on fairy dust and wishes? Tsk. He probably wouldn’t even make it to Oldale Town before he runs crying home to Mommy.

  
Hinata watched as Kageyama’s figure faded into the distance. God he hated that guy. He was such a pompus jerk. He was always looking down on all the other kids in town. Everyone else would be gathered together in the school yard eagerly trading pokemon cards and talking about their dream team. Kageyama on the other hand would walk around like he owned the place, looking down on everyone else. He would real jerky stuff like, “You fankids would never be able to take on a real pro like me. I’m going to become the strongest trainer in the world. I’m already training seriously instead of playing silly card games.”

  
Ugh, thought Hinata. What a jerk, strutting around the place like some sort of pokemon king. Even his pokemon are gonna hate his guts. Besides, Hinata was the one who was going to become the best trainer ever. Speaking of which, he had better get into the lab. Thanks to his little run in with the “king”, he was going to be late for his meeting with Professor Ukai.

  
Hinata picked himself off the ground, and brushed himself off. He suddenly brought both hands up to his face and smacked his cheeks. “All right!” he thought, “It’s time to get my charmander and start my journey!” He walked up to the entrance of the lab and the automatic doors slid open to welcome him. Inside, he was greeted by a scientific mess. Every inch of the lab bench was covered with papers, dirty beakers, poké egg shells, and various poké droppings. The professor was sitting at an equally messy desk with his back to the entrance.

  
Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably near the entrance, tugging at the bottom of his t-shirt.

  
“Umm…excuse me? Professor Ukai?”

  
“Hmm…what? Oh right! Hello Hinata!” piped the professor as he spun around in his chair, “I see you’ve come to get your starter! Well he’s very excited to meet you!”

  
A brown and white orb of a bird sat in Professor Ukai’s lap happily hooting away and tilting his head back and forth.

  
“What is that? I haven’t seen it in my pokedex,” asked Hinata.

  
“This is Rowlet!” beamed Professor Ukai, “I found him on my recent vacation to Alola. I wanted to give him to a special trainer who could help him grow. I think that’s you Hinata.”

  
Hinata didn’t know what to say. He’d always dreamed of having a Charmander as a starter, but how could he turn down the professor? He was giving him a pokemon that wasn’t even found in Hoenn and he really seemed to believe in Hinata. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe this chubby bird would evolve into something really badass.  
The professor got up and walked over to Hinata and held Rowlet out to say hello. Hinata timidly held out his hand to the owl and said “Hey there Rowlet. My name’s Hinata. It’s nice to meet cha!” Rowlet stared curiously at Hinata’s outstretched hand, tilting his back and forth like he was trying to decide just what it was. Hinata smiled and was just about to try and pet the bird when he suddenly stretched his neck out and chomped on his pointer finger.

  
“Yooowwwcchhh!” exclaimed Hinata, yanking his finger away from the owl’s mouth.

  
“Oh good he likes you!” said the professor, smiling.

  
“Arbe buu Shurbe?” mumbled Hinata as he sucked on his wounded finger. Despite the professor’s assurance, he didn’t really believe that biting was a sign of friendship.

  
Apparently Hinata was wrong because Rowlet flapped out of the professor’s hands and landed on Hinata’s head. He flinched as Rowlet dug his talons into Hinata’s hair. The owl fluffed up its feathers as he made himself a bed in Hinata’s wild orange locks. Once he was satisfied he turned his head around and tucked his beak into the feathers between his wings. With one last satisfied hoot, Rowlet drifted off to sleep.

  
Hinata sighed and smiled, thinking, “Well, I guess this might work out after all.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly but surely I'm getting this fic published. :P Thanks for bearing with me.  
> This chapter takes place 10 years after the boys begin their journey as trainers. The pair unexpectedly run into each other on Route 112, just outside Lavaridge.

Hinata looked at his rowlet Cupcake sitting on his chest, head tilted, eyes filled with concern. He waddled over and nibbled one of the strands of his orange hair that had fallen over his eyes. For a brief moment HInata couldn’t remember why he was lying on the ground. Then a tall, looming figure with a grimace and intense eyebrows appeared above him.

“You could at least watch where you’re going, Shorty,” said Kageyama

Hinata jumped to his feet and Cupcake fluttered up to perch on his shoulder. He stood toe to toe with Kageyama and glared up at him.

“I’m not the one who was standing there like an idiot in the middle of the road!”

“What are you in such a hurry for? Late for the youngster field trip to Mt. Chimney?

“For the last time Kageyama we are both twenty! I may be short but I’m the best trainer in all of Hoenen!”

Kageyama tilted his head back with a gravely laugh. The sound startled a sleeping Litten, who popped her head out of the top of his canvas shoulder bag.

  
“We both know who the real trainer here is. In fact I’m on my way to the Lavaridge gym to get my fourth badge.”

Hinata made himself as tall as he could, standing on the tips of his toes and leaning towards Kageyama.

“Not if I get there first! I’m going to be the last trainer standing!”

Cupcake and Litten watched as their trainers continued to argue and get in each other's faces. They knew that these confrontations could last for hours until both trainers lost their voices and gave up. The best thing to do was find a nice sunny spot to preen/groom and wait it out. In fact the two Pokémon had become quite close in the past ten years, not that their trainers had ever noticed.

Litten hopped out of Kageyama’s bag, stepped between the preoccupied trainers, and padded over to a boulder on the side of the road. She hopped up and found a warm place in the middle of the rock to curl up and fall asleep. Cupcake fluttered down from Hinata’s shoulder to perch next to her. He settled down on his haunches, stretched out his wing and began to expertly adjust each flight feather.

Just as Cupcake was working on his last primary feather, a sparking light in the bushes at the edge of the woods caught his attention. He pulled his wing back in, jumped off the back of the boulder and waddled towards the bushes. Litten lifted her head and mewed, wondering where the Pokémon was wandering off to. The light reappeared deeper in the bushes and Cupcake flapped his feathers and hooted excitedly.

Litten got up, stretched out on her front paws and yawned. She jumped off the boulder and padded over to Cupcake who was running up and down the length of the bushes, trying to find the light. Litten sat down, curled her tail around her butt and began to lick her paw. She couldn’t understand why the little bird was so enamored with a dumb little…Litten stopped preening. The light was back, this time in the woods and it was zipping all over the place. She was entranced, she was going to catch it. She lowered her body to the ground and intently watched the light, her butt wiggling with anticipation. When the light suddenly darted backwards she plunged into the woods after it.

Cupcake looked back at the two trainers who were interlocked and rolling around on the road, each one trying to shove the other’s face in the dirt. He didn’t want to stray too far from Hinata, but he also wanted to find the source of this strange light. After another minute of hesitation, Cupcake puffed out his feathers determinately and waddled into the woods after Litten.

“Well at least my eyebrows don’t look like I drew them on with sharpie after I burned them off!” shouted Hinata as he ran full force at Kageyama in attempt to tackle him to the ground.

  
Kageyama however, sidestepped the move with ease and scoffed, “Ha have you even _seen_ your hair lately?”

Hinata had been leaning forward in preparation for the collison, and this unfortunately meant he ended up ass over end in the dirt. He picked himself up, grabbing the edge of a boulder with his hand for support. His hand brushed against something light and fluffy, one of Cupcake’s feathers.

“Wait, where is Cupcake?”, Hinata thought to himself. He usually didn’t stray very far, but he hadn’t heard even the slightest cheep since he and Kageyama started fighting. Hinata clutched the tawny feather to his chest and frantically looked around for his bird. The sudden change in mood made Kageyama notice that Litten was also nowhere to be found.

  
Kageyama walked over to the boulder that HInata was now standing on, calling his rowlet’s name.

“I bet it ran away because you gave it that stupid name,” scoffed Kageyama.

“It’s not stupid! Pok Cupcakes are his favorite snacks!”, protested Hinata

“Ha! By that logic your name should be pork bun.”

“Will you just shut up! Cupcake could be in trouble! I need to find him!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes and turned, walking towards the woods.

“Wait! Where are you going?,” shouted Hinata.

“Where does it look like? I’m going to find Litten and your rowlet. God knows you’d never find him.”

Hinata didn’t seem to register the insult. He jumped off the boulder and ran over to Kageyama. He cocked his head, much like his bird and asked, “How do you know they went in the woods?”

Kageyama sighed and said, “Did you really miss the cat and bird prints leading up to Pokémon sized holes in the bushes?”

“Oh I didn’t even…Wait where are you going now?” shouted Hinata at Kageyama’s back as he trudged into the woods.

“Same as before, Stupid,” Kageyama snapped back.

“Well I’m coming with you,” said Hinata as he ran to catch up to up Kageyama, still clutching Cupcake’s feather to his chest.

Kageyama spun around, making Hinata skid to a halt. He grabbed Hinata by his shirt, and pulled him up to his eye level. “Let me make this very clear. There is no way in hell that you are coming with me.”

Hinata wiggled out of Kageyama’s grap. After he landed on the ground, he stood on his tip toes and brandished Cupcake’s feather in Kageyama’s face. “Part of being the best Pokémon trainer in the world means taking the very best care of your Pokémon. Cupcake is my best friend and I’m going to find him.” Hinata’s eyes sparkled with love for his Pokémon, and for a moment Kageyama was touched.

He might not show it as outwardly (and annoyingly he might add) as Hinata, but Kageyama was very worried about Litten and wanted to find her as soon as possible.“Tsk. Just don’t get in my way” said Kageyama begrudgingly as he stomped further into the woods. He just knew he was going to regret this decision. Hinata tucked Cupcake’s feather behind his ear and hurried after his arch rival.


	3. Chapter 3

“What if they ran into a really scary Pokémon? What if they fell in a hole? What if they ate something poisonous? What if…”

“What if you shut up so I can concentrate?” Kageyama shouted. He was crouched down, staring intently at the forest floor. They had already been searching for a few hours, and Hinata’s incessant worrying was starting to wear on his last nerve.

“Sorry,” mumbled Hinata, looking down and shuffling his foot in the dirt, “What are you doing anyway? How do you know we are even headed in the right direction?”

Kageyama rolled his eyes but didn’t look up from what he was doing. He gingerly placed his hand in the small cat track in front of him. It was part of a tight grouping of four prints. This was one of the two in the back and it was deep and angled downward. The two in the front were shallower and Kageyama could feel tiny claw holes in the toes. “She was probably crouching, getting ready to pounce on something,” Kageyama said softly to himself.

“You can really tell all that from some paw prints?”

Kageyama tumbled backwards in alarm. He had been so absorbed in his analysis that he hadn’t realized that Hinata had knelt down next to him. A concerned pair of sparkling brown eyes stared back down at him.

“Um sorry, I didn’t mean to… do you need a hand?” said Hinata with an outstretched hand.

“ _Tsk_. I’ve got it” grumbled Kageyama as righted himself back into his crouched position on the balls of his feet. He could feel his face flushing with embarrassment so he quickly looked away and snapped, “You mean to tell me that you’ve been catching Pokémon for 10 years and you never learned how to track?”

“Well excuse me Mr. Know-It-All-Tracker-Man,” said Hinata through puffed-out cheeks of anger. Kageyama had to suppress a laugh; Hinata looked like an angry chipmunk.

“I… um… ahem… I’ve been analyzing Litten and Cupcake’s trail. I keep seeing tight groupings of Litten’s tracks that suggest she was standing in one place. At those points Cupcake’s prints are usually adjacent. Those groupings are always followed by spread out Litten prints and a disappearance of Cupcake’s prints. It seems like Litten is running and Cupcake is probably flying. They must be chasing something and stopping periodically to pick up its trail,” mused Kageyama.

“But what would make them run off like that?” asked Hinata, “They are usually so well behaved! And even if Cupcake gets distracted by a leaf or butterfly or something, he always comes back.”  
That had also been bothering Kageyama. Neither Pokémon had ever been away this long. Litten would often wander off to stalk bug Pokémon in the grass, but she always comes back when called.  
Kageyama looked over at Hinata, about to ask if he was ready to keep moving, but the words never came out. He watched as Hinata plucked Cupcake’s feather from behind his ear. His orange hair fell over his face as he looked down forlornly at the single tawny feather resting in his open palm. His shoulders were shaking from the dusk chill in the air, or maybe it was something else. Was he crying? I mean it’s not like Kageyama cared about that overzealous idiot… but still.

“Look, why don’t we call it a night?” offered Kageyama. “It’s getting dark and we won’t be able to do much more today. It looks like there is a clearing up ahead. Let’s pitch our tents there for the night and start looking again at first light.”

Hinata didn’t look up, just twirled the feather between his thumb and pointer finger. “Yeah…I guess that makes sense,” he said softly.

Kageyama had never seen Hinata like this. He was usually so full of energy and passion. Even when he lost a match against him he was immediately up in arms swearing up and down that he would beat Kageyama next time. Now, with Cupcake missing and the chances of finding him alive and well thinning, he just seemed… broken. Kageyama walked over to Hinata and kicked the back of his legs, causing him to stumble forward slightly.

“Hey what the hell was that!” shouted HInata as he regained his balance.

“I didn’t think you were one to give up so easily, Hinata. I haven’t given up on Litten; I know I’ll find her tomorrow. You must not think very highly of your precious Cupcake,” teased Kageyama.  
Hinata spun around on his heel to face Kageyama with a look of renewed determination, “Cupcake is strong and smart and how dare you say--of course I believe in him! I’ll totally find him before you find your cat!”

“Ha! That’s rich! You won’t even be able to find your way out of this forest without me!” scoffed Kageyama. He smiled as he watched a flustered Hinata protest that he could indeed find his way around and stomped off in the opposite direction of the clearing. “Hey genius! You’re going the wrong way!”

“I knew that! Of course I knew that! I was just making sure you knew that, since you’re the outdoor adventure expert.” Hinata's cheeks were red with embarrassment as he jogged back to Kageyama.

“Yeah, ok, Shortie,” snorted Kageyama, “Just follow me and try not to get left behind.” Kageyama didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve like Hinata, but he was just as anxious. This was the first time all day that the constant stream of anxious thoughts was put on pause. Making Hinata squirm was just too much fun… and that’s all it was, as simple as that.

"I bet I can get my tent set up faster than you," challenged Hinata with an impish grin. Kageyama looked down into the fiery eyes of his rival and felt his stomach flip. It must be exhaustion and nerves, he thought, nothing more than that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter of my first fic! Wahoo! I'm sorry it took so long. It's because of who I am as a person.

With the tents pitched and a campfire started, the trainers went about the work of letting their Pokémon out for their dinner. Hinata took off his backpack and pulled out five bright red plastic bowls and a large Tupperware container of pokéfood. He laid the bowls out in a line next to his tent and filled them one by one. Each one had a Pokémon’s name printed in black lettering.

HInata reached back into his bag and began to pull out his pokéballs. A fetchlinder and pigeot were released first. They squawked excitedly and flew over to their trainer, each perching on one of his shoulders.

 “How’re you doing, guys?” asked HInata as he scratched the pigeot’s crown. The fetchlinder chirped indignantly, demanding attention. “Yes, yes, you get scritches too.” HInata turned his attention to the jealous bird, and scratched under its chin. The bird cheeped happily. It closed its eyes and titled its head, thoroughly enjoying the pampering. “I guess you guys aren’t hungry tonight, then.” The mention of food immediately got both birds’ attention and they flew off in the direction of the food bowls. The pigeot landed in front of the bowl marked “Spear” and the fetchlinder perched on the side of the “Peko” bowl.

 As the birds dug in, Hinata released his other Pokémon. In three flashes of light, a charmeleon, a shinx, and a vulpix appeared. Within seconds, the vulpix and shinx were happily scampering in circles around Hinata’s feet. The charmeleon, on the other hand, huffed out a puff of steam and trudged off towards the food. It sat down in front of the “Toby” bowl, wrapping its tail around it protectively as it ate.

Hinata scooped up the two rambunctious Pokémon under his feet. “Aren’t you two hungry?” The vulpix yipped and licked his face in response. Hinata giggled and delivered the Pokémon to the last two remaining bowls. He set the vulpix down in front of the “Rin” bowl and the shinx in front of the “Chance” bowl.

 Across the campfire, Kageyama was filling his own set of black plastic bowls with pokéfood. He then pulled his pokéballs out one by one, releasing a Pokémon in front of each bowl. A haunter, a poocheyna, a staravia, an ekans, and an umbreon sat obediently in front of their dinners, eyeing their trainer. Kageyama paused a minute before waving to his Pokémon. “Go ahead guys.” Most of the Pokémon stepped up to their bowls and began eating. The umbereon, however, trotted over to Kageyama and sat at his feet. She cocked her head and pawed at his cargo pants. He knelt down and scratched the Pokémon behind its ears. “That’s enough. You need to eat.” The umberon mewed in response before standing up, shaking herself off, and trotting back to her food bowl.

HInata had been watching this exchange from the fireside. He sat cross-legged on an orange and black striped blanket, spread a safe distance from the fire. An open Tupperware filled with pork buns lay in his lap, but he was too perplexed by what he had just witnessed to eat.

Kageyama made sure his umbereon was actually eating before he got up. She had a bad habitat of picking just a few pieces out of her bowl and then playing with them instead of actually eating them. Satisfied that she was behaving tonight, he stood up and turned towards the campfire. He met eyes with HInata, who was gawking at him. “Close your mouth, dumbass. You look like an exploud,” snapped Kageyama.

“Gah… I’m sorry… I mean… I was just. Ahem… Do you wanna sit down? I can share my pork buns.”

“ _Hmph_. It’s fine, but I brought my own dinner.” Kageyama sat down next to Hinata and pulled a Tupperware of onigiri out of his bag.

They ate in silence. Setting up camp had been a temporary distraction, but the absence of Litten and Cupcake hung heavily in the air. Hinata stared forelonely at Cupcake’s feather sitting on his leg as he ate. Kageyama put his pokéfood container back in his bag, wondering where Litten would her dinner tonight.

It was a while before Hinata broke the silence and said, “So... can I ask you something?”

Kageyama shrugged. “I guess. Must be pretty important if it takes precedence over pork buns”

“Ha ha, very funny. It’s just that I’ve been curious about something for a while. Why do you trade pokémon so often? You never seem to keep any for very long. Well, except for Litten and Umbreon. You don’t give them nicknames either. It’s like you don’t want to bond with…”

“Well I don’t remember asking a runt like you for training advice,” Kageyama cut in angrily. “My pokémon are athletes, and if they don’t cut it, they’re off the team. And they don’t need silly nicknames in order to do their jobs. I mean seriously, what is up with some of those? I remember when you named that pigeot Spear when it was still a spearow! And why would you name a charmeleon Toby? That’s like naming a gyrados Bob!”

“Ok, look, I was 10 when I named Spear! It seemed really cool at the time! And you wanna know why I named my charmeleon Toby? It’s cause it’s grumpy all the time and doesn’t get along with the rest of my team! He reminded me of you! I bet none of your Pokémon even like you!” Kageyama stared at him in shock, like Hinata had just slapped him across the face. Hinata knew he’d gone too far.

“Kageyama, I’m…” His apology was cut short. Kageyama punched Hinata in the face, knocking  him onto his back.

“You don’t know the first thing about me!”

“Mew?” Umbreon had trotted over carrying her bowl, blissfully unaware of the conflict. She dropped her bowl in front of Kageyama and excitedly wagged her tail.

Kageyama sighed and pulled Umbereon into his lap. He scratched her under her chin. “So you finished all your food this time. Good girl”

The other Pokémon had also finished their meals and joined their trainers by the fire. Hinata propped himself up on his elbow as his Pokémon gathered around him. The nuzzled against him, concerned for their trainer. “Don’t worry guys, I’m fine,” he said reassuring each Pokémon with snuggles and kisses. Satisfied that their trainer was no longer in mortal danger, they too found warm spots to curl up. The trainers were soon surrounded by happy, snoozing pokémon.

“Look, I’m sorry I punched you,” said Kageyama, looking down at his snoring umbereon.

“I’m sorry for what I said. I obviously struck a nerve.”

“What you said isn’t that far off. I’ve always had high expectations of my team. People have told me that I push my Pokémon too hard. Eventually they just stop listening to me and I have to trade them. The only exceptions are Litten, because she was my starter, and this girl here.” Kageyama smiled and stroked his Pokémon’s back. Umbereon lazily rolled over, demanding belly rubs.

“She seems to really love you,” Hinata scooched closer to Kageyama so that he could pat Umbreon as well (Who was delighted to receive extra attention). When the Pokémon suddenly changed postions, his hand brushed against Kageyama’s leg. It was just for a brief moment, but it sent a shiver up Kageyama’s spine. He was glad Hinata was focused on playing with Umberon’s paws so he didn’t see him blush. What in the world was going on with him lately? One minute he’s punching the guy out and the next he’s wishing Hinata would curl up right next to Umbereon? He was anxious to keep the conversation going, to distract himself.

“I rescued her when she was just a baby. I was catching Pokémon along Route 104 when Litten uncovered the den. There were six kits all together and they were in pretty bad shape. It looked like the mother hadn’t been back in days, something must have happened to her. I wrapped them up in my sleeping bag and rushed them to the Pokémon Center in Rustboro.”

Hinata stopped patting Umbereon to look up at Kageyama with sparking, concerned eyes. “Were the others ok?”

Umbereon soon started protesting because neither of the boys were paying any attention to her and her bully rub needs. Hinata turned his attention back to the Pokémon. Kageyama had to resist the urge to ruffle Hinata’s wild orange locks as he played with his Pokémon.

“I stuck around Rustboro for a few weeks, sleeping at the Pokémon center.  I wanted to stay and help out until they were all healthy and had been adopted. This little troublemaker, however, refused to leave my side. After they had been released from the ICU, she slept in my cot with me every night. She’s been with me ever since.”

Hinata sat upright and smiled at Kageyama, “That’s a really sweet story.” He winced and rubbed his left cheek, where Kageyama had punched him. “It kinda hurts to smile. Haha— _oof_. And laugh, apparently.”

“I’m really sorry about that. Let me get you an ice pack. I think I have one in my bag.” Kageyama rummaged around in his shoulder bag before pulling out a white gel pack and handing it to Hinata.

He held it up to his cheek and frowned. “Uh…Kageyama it’s not cold.”

“Seriously? You don’t know how to use one of these? Give it to me.” Kageyama took back the gel pack, cracked it to activate it, and then massaged the pack between his palms to disperse the chemicals. He held it against Hinata’s cheek. “There is that any better?”

Hinata reached up to hold the ice pack. His hand overlapped Kageyama’s, but neither of them moved. Hinata couldn’t feel the cold pack against his cheek, just the warmth between their hands.

“Look Kageyama, I shouldn’t have said what I did. So what if a few Pokémon in the past stopped listening to you? You’re a strong trainer and it seems to me like this team likes you just fine,” He said gesturing to the Pokémon slumbering around them. “Besides…I like you a lot too.” Hinata looked away, blushing. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he couldn’t meet Kageyama’s gaze. Had he actually just said that out loud!? Kageyama hadn’t moved his hand away. That was a good sign, right?

Suddenly, Hinata felt Kageyama’s other hand under his chin. When Hinata looked up his face was only a few inches away, his dark eyes staring into his own. “Idiot”, whispered Kageyama just before he pulled him into a slow, passionate kiss. They dropped the ice pack between them and Hinata wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s neck. They pulled each other closer, feeding off the electricity between them.

Screams coming from the woods made them abruptly break apart. Two figures careened into the clearing, pursued by some unknown threat. The Pokémon around the trainers jumped to attention, focused on whatever interrupted their sleep. The first figure was tall and lanky with unruly black hair. He wearing what looked like a dark red lab coat. The second was shorter with white spiky hair, wearing some sort of bizarre embellished scuba suit. They were both tumbling over themselves trying to cross the field as fast as possible. The scuba suit guy yelled, “Forget this! We just wanted some cool mascots!”

Before either Hinata or Kageyama could react, the pursuers came barreling out of the brush. “Oh my God! It’s Cupcake and Litten!” exclaimed Hinata.

 “Those monsters are yours?” balked the guy in red.

“Yeah you can keep those. No thank you!” called the other over his shoulder.

The odd pair quickly disappeared into the woods on the other side of the clearing, but the trainers were more focused on reuniting with their Pokémon. They ran over to them, closely followed by the rest of their ecstatic teams. Cupcake flew into Hinata’s arms and he held him tight. “Oh Cupcake I’m so glad you are ok. I was so worried!”

Kageyama scooped up Litten and scratched her under her chin, “I knew you were up to no good.”

He turned to look at his once rival, “Hey, Hinata, listen. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Like those two hooligans in the weird costumes. I think I remember reading about some groups that have been making trouble recently that wore outfits like that. I… ahem… I was thinking we should keep working together. Figure out what is going on.” Kageyama hoped Hinata could read between the lines. Finding the people who took their Pokémon was certainly important, but he was more anxious to explore what he and Hinata could have.

Hinata giggled, squishing Cupcake against his face, “Yeah, sounds like fun!” From the way Hinata beemed at him, Kageyama knew that he got the message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giant shoutout to allihearisradiogaga, hobbit_hedgehog, and DisappearingOctopus. Thanks for the encouragement, input and editing. Oh and DisappearingOctopus, thanks for the drinks. (pew pew finger guns)


End file.
